Combat Mortality

[JALU3]

The psychological effects of trauma are another matter. In most cases the injrues will probably be healed long before the emotional effects of the injury pass away. I would think that in some ways, that might be a determint. It might give injuries a sort of nightmare-dream quality.

Makes me wonder whether the ability to insert a lot of memories in a short amount of time is a common thing or a technology specific to the species which "ajudicated" MMCS O'Brien on Argrathi. If it is common place, it would assist people in being able to recover from PTSD, and other disorders which often require a long period of counseling in order to resolve it. However, the impact if that procedure going wrong would be a whole other psycological problem all together!

[spyone]

If I may address the original topic (not that I don't like where this has headed):

(Bear in mind that a lot of what I know about this I learned on the History Channel, or from other sources of similar quality or lack thereof. )
The introduction of the helicpoter completely changed battlefield medicine. Before the Korean War, the triage procedure was that the most badly injured got treated last. It was based on this cold equasion: during the time that doctor spends trying to save this 1 life (and probably failing), he could have been treating (and saving) 5 other men.
I have recently read a Star Trek novel where the ship's doctor makes a similar triage call: as the ship is still in combat, medical priority went to those who could be treated quickly and then return to duty, so that they might help save the ship.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.

From what we've seen of Starfleet medicine, their survival rate is probably way above 90%: it seems like if you aren't killed instantly, you're just a beam-out away from being 100% - sickbay can fix nearly anything. The only times sickbay has had a problem, it was plot-driven (Worf's broken spine, Picard's heart).
But, as you point out, transporters can be blocked, either by natural phenomena or by hostile forces. Starfleet must have some pretty good field medicine as well.


One thing that recently occurred to me as curiously absent: armor. Now I know that the rationale is that against phasers armor wouldn't do much good: if it can disintegrate a person, it can probably disintegrate an armored person too.
But the traditional role of personal armor on the battlefield isn't to protect against direct hits, it's to protect against near misses. At least the pre-Iraq stuff we gave our troops was theoretically to protect them from shrapnel from artillery, not from small arms fire. And we've seen plenty of cases where somebody got hurt by a piece of wall from a phaser shot that missed them.
Further, look at special forces operators like the "delta" guys in Blackhawk Down. They don't wear "armor" because it's heavy, encumbering, and not very useful against what they'll face. BUT, they wear streethockey helmets, because they do recognize the value of protecting their noggin from bumps and bashes, and they wear athletic pads to protect their knees and elbows from the same kind of stuff.
It seems to me that the standard Security uniform, especially for any kind of away-team, would have padding at the joints, and maybe a padded helmet of some kind. Maybe something like an old leather boxing helmet, or a WWI aviator's helmet: not an imposing stormtrooper kind of headgear, but something to at least cover those really thin bits of skull at your temples.

But the only uniform I've seen like that was in a video game.


And, bouncing back to the main topic again (even my own post has topic-drift ):
Starfleet would be having much the same effect we are now seeing from improved medical care: a better survival rate among the injured is coupled to a higher disability rate among the survivors. If you can keep the folks who've lost a limb from dying, then more of your survivors will be missing a limb. Duh.
I was recently reminded (by an entry for "hollywood healing" over at tvtropes.org, that both Worf and Rom were permanently partially disabled: though it never came up again on-screen, both had been told the best possable outcome was a less than 100% return to normal mobility.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

As far as I can see, there is no soul.

Sadly, there it is. We are utterly alone, and all we have is what society we can make on our own.

Let's hope we make a good one...but I doubt it.

In Trek, the existence of a transrational divinity nascent within sentient beings is strongly implied–see TMP, "Where no one...", possibly "barge of the dead," the whole turning-into-glowing-beings thing, the way lifeform sensors work...

Anyway, what the original question was referring to was continuity of consciousness, which, sans katric transfer, would not be maintained. Essentially, it would be the same as the Vorta–the illusion of identity maintained through memory transfer. Giving the original the right to decide the fate of the copy would be, in this case, barbaric.

[JALU3]

The introduction of the helicpoter completely changed battlefield medicine. Before the Korean War, the triage procedure was that the most badly injured got treated last. It was based on this cold equasion: during the time that doctor spends trying to save this 1 life (and probably failing), he could have been treating (and saving) 5 other men.
I have recently read a Star Trek novel where the ship's doctor makes a similar triage call: as the ship is still in combat, medical priority went to those who could be treated quickly and then return to duty, so that they might help save the ship.

Unfortunatly this holds true today when one is dealing with a Mass Casualty Incident, whether this is due to a traffic collision, a natural disaster, or combat . . . the rules are still the same . . . and I can imagine that it will be the same anytime you have to Triage. Here are two good links regarding Triage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage
http://www.armystudyguide.com /content/powerpoint/First_Aid_Presentations/triage-2.shtml Edit: removed the direct link on request on the site owner, due to it being old (at the point of editing, the information is all there). But kept the information for the direct location to make it able to search for the information.
And as you stated before the speed of transportation is vital. The faster you get someone to advanced care, the more likely their life threatening symptoms can be treated. However, imagine if you're use to transporting with an anti-grav litter, or uninhibited transporter service, etc. etc. And then all of a sudden you are pressed into a position where you have to return to the basics. I hope that they haven't forgotten the basics. Yet, I can imagine that most have. A good example is the knowledge that Dr. Pulaski retained which others in her field did not. Because she was taught, and retained basic medical knowledge absent of the need of certain modern technologies.

[Antonsb214]

Well, in the LUG Trek Player's Guide, they have the RRT Field Medic. He has training in first aid/combat trauma, medical sciences/surgery, and life sciences/biology to just name a few. And some toys like the hypo pouch (hypo-spray with six meds; anesthezine, cordrazine, hyronalin, melorazine, terazine, and tri-ox in it), forcefield generator (creates a shield around patient and medic so he can work on them), and the statis backboard (keeps patient in stasis up to 50 hours).

[LUGTrekGM]

I just see it that it's a science fiction setting none of it is real, it's all for the story.

So when Kirk loses a crewman they glow a bit, gone, move on, not all the ER type medical procedures, it loses the plot.

[JALU3]

I just see it that it's a science fiction setting none of it is real, it's all for the story.

So when Kirk loses a crewman they glow a bit, gone, move on, not all the ER type medical procedures, it loses the plot.

No, that to is part of Triage . . . if they are dead . . . why waste your time, when there are other wounded where your time and attention can actually make an impact on.

If they cannot breath without your assistance, and there are others who are less wounded who you can more easily stabalise . . . but are not insignficantly injured, then to bad for that person. No time for Rescue Breathing or Chest Compressions . . . patch up . . . stop the bleeding . . . move out.

So even with the glowing dead crewmen there is triage.


Even with medical treatment . . . resources will always be limited.

[LUGTrekGM]

I'm talking story factors, not in game realism or mechanics.

If the story is called "A Broken Toy Soldier" you'll have that individual sufferring.

If the story is "Cenkali IV got smoked, by Klingons" your Triage scene will be "The starfleet medicos are surrounded by strethers, and blood" [Next scene]

[JALU3]

I'm talking story factors, not in game realism or mechanics.

If the story is called "A Broken Toy Soldier" you'll have that individual sufferring.

If the story is "Cenkali IV got smoked, by Klingons" your Triage scene will be "The starfleet medicos are surrounded by strethers, and blood" [Next scene]

As you said, pace of the story . . . not every scene needs to be detailed . . . some are covered by general action statements . . . others are in depth and bring the PCs into the situation, intimitly at times.